Hector: Outback Shifters Book One

by Chant, Zoe

  Myrtle frowned a little, her eyes clouding. “I do – and I love them all like crazy. But they can be a little… much, at times. I suppose when there’s eight of them that’s probably normal.”

  Hector looked at her, amazed. “Eight, including you?”

  Myrtle shook her head. “Nine, including me. Six older sisters and two younger brothers. And my siblings are all… well, they’re all…” She gestured helplessly. “Let’s just say I’m kind of the ugly duckling.”

  “I can’t imagine that,” Hector said, meaning it. He let his eyes roam over her body, appreciating every inch of it. Her strong, muscled legs, the luscious curve of her hips, her wide shoulders and soft, rounded breasts. Her character shone through in her face, from her strong, determined jaw and the intelligence that flashed in her blue-gray eyes, to her habit of biting her full lower lip when she was thinking.

  Like she was doing now as she looked at him, a mildly skeptical expression on her face.

  “I really mean it,” Hector assured her. “Everything I told you last night – it’s really true, Myrtle. I realize it probably all sounded like a corny line, but –”

  “No, it didn’t,” Myrtle said quickly, cutting him off. “I mean I… I believe you. I really do. I think I felt it too, the first time our hands touched. And… last night… well…”

  She blushed, looking down. As the color spread adorably over her face, Hector found he had to busy himself with kneading the damper in order to avoid a really unfortunate situation in his pants.

  “But I feel like it’s going to take a bit of time to get used to hearing that,” she finally finished. She took a deep breath. “I guess I’m just kind of used to being overlooked. There were even a couple of times in high school when boys would pretend to be interested in me, so they’d have an excuse to hang around at my place and get closer to my sisters. Not,” she went on quickly, “that any of my sisters went out with them once they realized what’d happened. But it still stung, you know?”

  “Fucking arseholes.” Hector shook his head as he broke the dough into halves, lifting one half up and winding it around a dry stick. He had to do something to distract himself from the fact his griffin had just reared up in his chest, demanding the blood of anyone who had ever made Myrtle feel lesser than what she was – which was perfect.

  Absolutely perfect.

  “It seems to me like you should’ve been hearing how special you are every day of your life,” he said. “Smart, beautiful, brave – you’re everything I’ve ever wanted. You’re my mate. And to me, that means you’ll never be anything less than perfect.”

  He heard Myrtle’s surprised exhalation. But the only answer to that was to just keep telling her until she believed it.

  He finished winding the damper dough around the sticks before handing one to Myrtle. He held the dough over the fire, and Myrtle followed his example.

  “You’re not so bad yourself,” she said after a moment or two of silence, in which they watched the dough slowly begin to brown over the fire. “Believe me, if anyone had told me this trip would be turning out the way it has, I’d have… well, I don’t know what I would have done. Laughed myself stupid, I suppose. I thought I’d be scrabbling around in a cave, counting moths right now.”

  “You can still do it,” Hector told her. “I can do my best to have you back in Good Fortune as soon as possible. I’m sorry this has interrupted all your plans.”

  Myrtle shook her head. “I hope so. But I –” She bit her lip. “I hope this doesn’t sound selfish, but I can’t feel too sad about the lost time. Not if it meant that all of this has happened. That I got to meet you and Ruby. And… well. Everything else, too.”

  She was speaking slowly and hesitantly, and Hector didn’t feel the need to reply right away. He was sure she knew how he felt. Griffins might not have telepathy, but it seemed their bond did make their emotions clear to each other. Right now, Hector could feel the warmth flowing from Myrtle’s heart into his.

  My mate.

  “I know,” he said. “And believe me, this is the last thing I expected to have happen, too. But I couldn’t be happier, now that it has.”

  They sat quietly together for a while. Hector knew they had a lot of things between them that they needed to talk about, but for now, he was happy to sit in contented silence.

  “This should be ready now,” Hector said, pulling his damper off the fire. He tested it with a finger. “Yep – cooked the whole way through, just a little black on the edges.”

  He rested his damper stick against his knees, then reached to his side, grabbing the jars of honey and Vegemite.

  “Which one do you want?”

  Myrtle made a face. “Like you have to ask!”

  “Fine, fine, I’ll just be over here, enjoying my salty black yeast byproduct by myself, then,” Hector laughed, passing her the honey. “But I feel like you ought to know that I don’t make fun of America’s national obsession with peanut butter, do I?”

  “That’s because peanut butter is actually good!” Myrtle protested as she broke off a piece of damper, dipping it in the honey. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you’d even compare the two. What the hell?”

  “Lie to yourself all you like, you know it’s weird for any country to be that invested in squashed-up nuts,” Hector said, sticking his finger in the jar of Vegemite before smearing it over his damper and taking a big bite.

  Hector chewed happily, letting the salty taste of the Vegemite settle on his tongue. The plain damper and the tang of the Vegemite was the perfect combination – delicious and hearty, the perfect way to start the day. People who didn’t like it just didn’t know what they were missing, and he’d never understand it.

  “Ohhhh, yeah,” he said, swallowing and sighing with contentment. “That’s the stuff.”

  “Stop,” Myrtle muttered, rolling her eyes. “I hope you know I’m really reconsidering this whole thing right now.”

  Hector grinned at her, and didn’t stop until he saw an irresistible grin pulling at her own lips.

  “Lucky you’re hot,” she said, shaking her head before dipping more of her damper into the honey. “And that this is so good.”

  We have provided for our mate!

  His griffin stood up proudly, as if it had just produced a three-course gourmet meal.

  We are finally showing her some manners! We are showing her how a griffin takes care of its mate!

  Hector tried not to grimace. If this was how much his griffin overreacted to him making Myrtle some damper, it was going to be downright insufferable if he ever took her on a date to anywhere even a little fancier than the Engadine McDonald’s.

  Hector felt a nudge at his side, and looked down to see Ruby nosing at him, nostrils sniffing curiously.

  “You want some?” he asked her, holding out a finger. “At least someone in this family has good taste.”

  He caught Myrtle’s surprised blink, and realized once again that he’d referred to them all as a family. He’d have to watch that, he thought. In the end, Ruby rejected the Vegemite, screwing up her little nose and turning away with a disgusted meeh!

  Instead, she trotted over to Myrtle, nosing at her arm and trying to climb up her leg while attempting to snaffle up some honey and damper.

  “Hey, hey, table manners, please!” Myrtle laughed, lifting her food up and away from Ruby’s nibbling mouth.

  “You’ve had your breakfast anyway, missy,” Hector told Ruby. “No more for you.”

  Ruby looked between them, eyes narrowing, before flapping her wings and taking off, still trying to grab some of Myrtle’s breakfast.

  “Okay, okay, if you want some that bad,” Myrtle said, breaking a little off and offering it to Ruby. It was gone in an instant, Ruby licking honey off her lips in satisfaction.

  “That’s all though,” Myrtle told her sternly when Ruby tried to grab some more. Ruby looked between them for a moment, and then, as if sensing she was beaten, landed on the ground and trotted off to sulk,
her back turned to them, tail swishing huffily.

  “I suppose we still don’t know who was trying to buy Ruby’s egg,” Myrtle said slowly as she dusted off her hands, before resting them on her knees, gazing at where Ruby was sniffing dejectedly around the dwindling campfire.

  “There’s a lot about this situation I don’t know that I’d like to,” Hector said. “How the bikies got the egg in the first place. Who they were trying to sell it to. Where it came from.” He shook his head. “The most important thing for now, though, is that we get Ruby to safety – to someone who can look after her properly and protect her. If she really is the only pegasus left, she’s not going to have an easy life.”

  Myrtle nodded, her face pensive. “I suppose that’s true. If people were trying to smuggle her before she was even born…” She stopped, swallowing. “I hate the idea that she’ll never really be free. That she’ll always have to be looking over her shoulder. That there’ll be no one else like her in the whole world.”

  As if sensing she was being talked about, Ruby looked up from where she was nosing around in the dirt, ears twitching, eyes bright. “Meee-eeh?”

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Myrtle said soothingly. “Everything will be all right. I promise. I don’t know how, but… I promise.”

  Ruby cocked her head, tail swishing. She blinked.

  And the next thing Hector knew, he was standing by the shed door, his hand extended toward the handle, with no thought in his head but Gotta get some apple puree.

  He blinked.

  “What the – what the hell?”

  He turned, looking back to where Myrtle was still sitting by the fire.

  “Don’t ask me,” she said, sounding surprised. “You just suddenly stood up and raced over to the door without saying anything. Did you forget why you stood up?”

  “No,” Hector said, shaking his head slowly. “In fact, I don’t even remember standing up. I was over there, and then the next thing I knew I was here, thinking I had to get some…”

  Apple puree.

  There was only one person here who was that obsessed with apple puree.

  He looked at Ruby, who was watching him intently, tail swishing gently.

  “Meee-eeh?”

  She sounded prompting, and, as Hector watched her, she blinked again – and all at once he was seized with the urge to open the door and grab the puree. He had to force his hand back down to his side, and shake his head to clear it.

  What the hell?

  “Is this you?” he asked Ruby, not sure whether to really believe it or not. “Are you –?”

  “What?” Myrtle asked. “What’s she doing?”

  “I… don’t know,” Hector said slowly. “But I think she just –”

  How can I explain this without sounding crazy?

  “She just what?” Myrtle asked, confused.

  “I think she’s the one who wants something,” Hector said, approaching Ruby slowly. “I think she’s trying to make me get her some more breakfast.”

  She shied away from him slightly, as if knowing she’d been caught out, but then gave him a defiant, “Mee-eeh!”

  “What are you?” Hector asked her softly, dropping to his knees. “How did you do that?”

  “Wait, wait, wait,” Myrtle said. “Are you saying that Ruby just, what, mind-whammied you into going over there and getting her some extra food?”

  “I think so,” Hector said, eyes still on Ruby. “I mean, I didn’t have any intention of going over there. And I’m not the one who wants apple puree so damn much.”

  “Can… can she do that? Control people’s actions? Control their minds?” Myrtle’s eyes were wide, her voice soft and awed.

  “I have no idea,” Hector said. “There’s nothing about pegasi being able to mind control people in the shifter history books. I’ve definitely never heard of them having a power like that.”

  Myrtle leaned down, reaching out to Ruby, who gazed at her warily.

  “It’s okay, you’re not in trouble,” Myrtle whispered soothingly. “But no more mind whammies, okay? That’s not fair.”

  Hector glanced at her. “You believe me, then?”

  In response, Myrtle let out a low laugh. “C’mon, after everything you’ve told me in the past twenty-four hours, that’s the thing you think I won’t believe?” She shook her head. “Anyway, it was really weird, the way you just stood up suddenly. Your movements were really awkward and jerky. You don’t usually move like that. You startled me – I thought something was wrong. But now I know it was just a badly-behaved little miss taking advantage of you.”

  They both looked at Ruby, who was looking down moodily, clearly upset that her ploy hadn’t worked.

  “Don’t sulk now,” Myrtle told her. “Like I said, you’re not in trouble. But you can’t do that again. All right?”

  Ruby made a small, contrite sound, and nuzzled Myrtle’s outstretched fingers. She certainly seemed like she was sorry for what she’d done, though Hector had no doubt that if he hadn’t come back to himself when he did, she’d be happily eating all the apple puree he could put in front of her.

  Ruby pranced a little, her pure white coat sparkling in the early morning sunshine. Now assured that she was forgiven, her spirits seemed to rise again, and she trotted about, nosing at the ground, tail switching.

  “So, she’s the last pegasus on earth, and she has mind control powers,” Myrtle muttered as she watched her. “Okay. This is fine. Is it fine?”

  “It certainly does complicate things a little,” Hector said. “I guess we just have to –”

  Before he could get any further, the sound of whirling helicopter blades drifted to his ears.

  Is it the emergency pickup team? It took them long enough.

  Hector honestly hadn’t thought about the amount of time that had passed since he sent the beacon signal. He’d been too caught up with Myrtle, all his focus and attention on her.

  Reckless, yet again, he told himself. He’d have to watch that. It was fine when he just had himself to look after, but it couldn’t happen now that he had Myrtle and Ruby. His mate and her safety always had to be foremost on his mind. His job never really called for him to use his brains – he was told where to go and what to do. Who his target was. It was the others in intelligence gathering, the deep undercover agents, who did most of the brain work. He had always relied on his griffin’s instincts and strength.

  “The pickup’ll be here soon,” he explained to Myrtle, realizing that her ears wouldn’t be able to detect the sound of it approaching yet. “Then we can get cleaned up, debrief. Have a proper feed. Then we can talk.”

  Myrtle nodded. Then her eyes drifted down.

  “And Ruby?”

  Hector hesitated. “It’ll be out of my hands, Myrtle. But I trust that she’ll be looked after, by people who know more about how to care for a baby pegasus than I do.”

  “I hope so,” Myrtle said, eyes still downcast. “I couldn’t bear it if – if –”

  She didn’t need to finish the sentence.

  As if sensing her unease, Ruby trotted forward, nuzzling her arm, her huge, liquid eyes looking up into Myrtle’s face.

  A warm feeling immediately washed over Hector, and he recognized it at once as comfort. He stared down at Ruby, who merely blinked back at him, face innocent.

  You really do have some powers no one else knows about, don’t you, he thought, wondering if she could read his mind. Might be best if you keep those to yourself for a little while, okay?

  The sound of the chopper blades got louder, and when Hector looked up, he could see the helicopter approaching, a black dot in the clear blue expanse of the sky.

  “We’d better get cleaned up here, put everything back how we found it,” Hector said, standing. “They’ll be here in a few minutes.”

  “Well, I for one am looking forward to a shower,” Myrtle said, stretching, and then sniffing her armpit and making a face. “Phew.”

  Hector had to stop his griffin f
rom rearing up inside him, growling with lust.

  Our mate’s scent is the most desirable smell in the world, it said, eyes narrowing to slits. We should revel in it.

  I think that’s a third date conversation, Hector told it, trying to swallow down the seething heat that had suddenly risen within him. And in any case, let’s get ourselves presentable, yeah?

  His griffin grumblingly acquiesced, and Hector leaned down, picking up his shirt from the ground.

  “What a shame,” Myrtle said, her eyes darting over him one last time, a smile tugging at her lips. “But I suppose it has to be done.”

  “Plenty of time for that later,” Hector said, shooting her a grin. “I promise.”

  Chapter 9

  Myrtle scooped Ruby up in her arms as the sound of the helicopter drew closer. Ruby, unsurprisingly, didn’t seem to like the sound at all, wiggling uneasily in Myrtle’s arms and looking up at her with wide, frightened eyes.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart,” Myrtle said soothingly, running her hand down Ruby’s neck in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. “Everything’s fine. These people are here to help.”

  Even as she said it, she hoped it was true.

  What will happen to Ruby once we have to hand her over?

  She couldn’t believe anyone would try to harm her – if what Hector had told her last night was true and Ruby had a human form, then surely there would be laws that would protect her in ways that they might not had she been just an animal, albeit a very rare and special one.

  I wonder what other powers she has, Myrtle thought as she looked down at the little creature in her arms. What other things she might learn to do as she grows up.

  The sound of the helicopter’s whirring blades grew almost deafening as it finally came to hover overhead. Myrtle had to cover her eyes to protect them from the dust that blew up around them, shielding Ruby with her body as she did so.